Gerhard Kerschbaumer (TX Active Bianchi) locked up the Under-23 men's World Cup cross-country title on Saturday, with his fourth victory of the season in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. Kerschbaumer followed the attack of local favourite Ondrej Cink (Merida), and the two dropped the rest of the field on the start loop. From that point on, Kerschbaumer easily sat on the wheel of Cink, as the Czech rider tried repeatedly to drop him on the climbs, before launching his own attack on the third lap and riding 20 seconds clear. Marek Konwa (Milka Trek) had joined the two leaders briefly on lap two before being dropped for good and soloing in for third.

Behind Konwa, a group of six battled for fourth and fifth, with American Stephen Ettinger (BMC) moving into fourth on lap five with Shlomi Haimy (Focus MIG), before both faded on the last lap. Sebastien Carabin (Belgian National) surged into fourth on the last lap, with Ettinger taking fifth. The American revealed after the race that he had burped his front tire and rode it in half-inflated.

With this victory, Kerschbaumer now has an unbeatable 452 points in the overall standings, with one race remaining. The battle for second is still wide open, with Alexander Gehbauer (Austria) at 250 points, Fabien Canal (GT Skoda Chamonix) at 234, Carabin at 199 and Konwa at 190.